New Wheels

The original steel wheels wouldn’t clear the disc brakes so I picked up a new set from ScoutParts.com. These fit and I was able to use the same tires so it wasn’t too costly. Looks nice and will do for now!

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Stopppp!

I read an original driving review of the Scout and it sounded like they didn’t stop very well when they were new. Here we are, 43 years later, and I’m here to tell you that they were, in fact, scary! So over the last few weekends I’ve been working on installing front disc brakes.

You can find brake conversions for Dana 30 axles, but no complete kits for a Scout. You need add a brake booster, and there isn’t really room for one because of the inner fender. In addition, you need a new Master Cylinder and Proportioning Valve specific for the front disc/rear drum combo. I took some measurements and ordered this combo from Summit Racing. Cut out a small section of the inner fender and welded in new metal, and had to make my own mounting bracket for the brake booster (both circled in red). Also had to fab up a brake pedal push rod for the new set up. Test drove it today and it stops nicely, but the pedal feels a little spongy so I’m going to bleed the brakes again.

I also installed new locking hubs while I was there and it’s a good thing. The old ones were shot.

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First thing’s first

Gotta be able to park the Scout in the garage so that we can work on it. The first time we pulled it into the garage we noticed it smelled heavily of fuel. Found that the fuel filler tubes were old and cracked. Bought some new ones from Scout Parts along with new style caps.

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PIMotorsports Holiday Party

Jaime and I took the Pantera up to PI Motorsports for their 2011 Holiday party on Sunday. We try to go to this show every year. It’s a great chance to see a lot of other cool Panteras and meet/greet new people.

In 2004 we won the “Best Work in Progress” trophy. Our pantera had a gutted interior and none of the fancy body work or engine work had been done. This year we snagged the “Best of Show” trophy, which is a huge compliment considering all of the great looking Panteras there. This is the biggest award we’ve ever received at a car show, and we’ve been to a lot of them!

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Love this

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Beautiful video

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Hot Rod Reunion

Sean and I went to the Hod Rod Reunion on Saturday. This is the second time I’ve been, but the first time that I got to stay long enough to see the Cacklefest, which was incredibly impressive. They had seven or eight nitro dragsters running at all times, while more and more dragsters joined up along the dragstrip. Eventually there were about 50 of them. There was so much nitro in the air that my eyes were burning, tears running down my face. Hard to breath. It was awesome!

Please enjoy the following video and photos from the event. One of the coolest car events around, and for only $25, it’s amazing.

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Getting some motorcycle Zen on

Beautiful

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Monterey

This gallery contains 31 photos.

Sean, Jaime and I drove up to Monterey for the historic races last weekend. It’s a looooong drive, but it’s always worth it. Here’s a handful of my favorites.

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Putting on some miles

Two years ago this month we were putting fender flares on the Pantera. How crazy. It seems like just a few months ago.

I’ve been working hard on the Pantera for the last two weekends. Nothing terribly visual, just a bunch of important odds and ends. I have a good number of cuts, scrapes and bruises, and I think a separated rib.   :)

Swapped in a new 100 amp alternator. Got the timing and fuel pressure set properly. Have the carbs pretty close. Put the rest of the interior back together. Painted the under side of the decklid and cleaned up the cut-outs around the webers. Re-painted the engine cover semi-gloss black. Moved the throttle cable to a higher position on the gas pedal, etc, etc.

Drove the car around all weekend to put some miles on the motor. The ol Pantera gets tons of attention and drinks plenty of gas. Every time I parked the car people were taking photos or asking questions about it. I took a couple quick pics myself to show the finished engine cover and decklid set-up.

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